AT16014U1 - Operating device for operating light bulbs - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an operating device (10) for operating light sources (50), wherein an interface (15) for communication with an external sensor (20), e.g. a presence or brightness sensor is provided, and means for power supply (14) of the sensor (20), wherein the operating device (10) is adapted, in a period in which the lighting means (50) are not activated, a power supply of the sensor (20) only at its request.

Description

description

OPERATING DEVICE FOR OPERATING LUMINAIRES The present invention relates to an operating device for operating illuminants, which has an interface for communication with an external sensor. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a sensor for use with such an operating device, wherein the sensor can be, for example, a presence or brightness sensor.

A sensor-controlled operation of lighting means enables a comfortable, tailored to the current situation lighting and often leads to energy and thus cost savings. For example, sensors can be used to determine whether and, if so, how many people are in a room, and depending on this, the lighting can be adjusted. Taking into account the daylight falling into a room also means that the artificially generated light is only generated when required or with a correspondingly adjusted intensity, so that the energy expenditure can be reduced in comparison to a constant illumination ignoring these external factors. If, for example, sufficient daylight is available and / or if there are no people in the room to be illuminated, the artificial light can be significantly reduced or even completely deactivated.

In this context, there is the problem that individual sensors must also be active when the associated operating device for operating the lamps does not control active lamp operation, ie is in a standby state. This applies in particular to the so-called daylight sensors already mentioned above, which, for example, must be able to detect whether the available daylight is still sufficient when artificial light is deactivated, and in the event that the value falls below a predefined limit, the to cause the associated control gear to activate the lamps. The same applies to a presence or motion detector that only efficiently enables the artificial light to be activated automatically if it is able to operate e.g. in the standby state of the control gear, e.g. recognize someone entering a room.

The present invention now relates to the situation known from the prior art that the sensor is supplied with energy by the associated operating device. As a rule, a low-voltage voltage supply is provided for this within the operating device, via which the sensor is supplied.

Since - as described above - the supply must be maintained even in the deactivated state of the lamps, there are relatively high losses in the standby state of the operating device due to the relatively poor efficiency of the components responsible for the low voltage supply. These often include, for example, switching regulators which have a very low efficiency in a low load range.

As an alternative to a permanent supply of the sensor by the operating device, it is also known to switch off the supply as soon as the lighting is deactivated. Even in the event that the sensor has an internal buffer, there is then the risk that the buffered energy was used up before the lighting was activated again and the sensor accordingly ceased to function. The functionality of the entire system consisting of the control gear and the sensor connected to it would therefore no longer be guaranteed.

From the prior art, a supply of the sensor is also known exclusively from batteries. However, the energy stored in these batteries will also be used up at some point and an exchange is necessary in order to continue to operate the sensor satisfactorily.

/ 9

AT16014U1 2018-10-15 Austrian

Patent Office Finally, a supply via so-called energy harvesting, for example via solar cells or the like, would also be conceivable. As a rule, however, such systems are not sufficiently mature to provide sufficient energy that is sufficient for the sensor to operate continuously.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of specifying an improvement which makes it possible on the one hand to ensure permanent operation of the sensor and on the other hand to keep the losses of the operating device in the standby state as low as possible.

The object is achieved by an operating device which has the features of claim 1 and by a sensor according to claim 7. Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

The solution according to the invention provides for the operating device and the sensor in turn to be designed such that the sensor is supplied by the operating device. According to the invention, however, both components are now designed in such a way that the sensor has energy-storing means and communication is made possible such that the sensor itself can cause the operating device to supply the sensor. The sensor can therefore use internal voltage supply means - e.g. in the form of a storage capacitor - and in the event that the energy provided by the internal voltage supply means is no longer sufficient, transmit a request to the operating device which causes the operating device to supply the sensor with voltage. If the internal voltage supply means of the sensor have been sufficiently charged after a certain time, the supply by the operating device can be deactivated again, so that the supply by the operating device during standby operation is only carried out when necessary and thus the total losses in standby state be kept extremely low.

According to the invention, an operating device for operating lamps is proposed which has an interface for communication with an external sensor, e.g. a presence or brightness sensor, and means for supplying voltage to the sensor, the operating device being designed to supply the sensor with voltage only when requested, in a period in which the lamps are not activated.

Furthermore, a sensor, in particular a presence or brightness sensor is proposed, with means for communication with an operating device for operating lamps, the sensor being designed to be supplied with voltage by the operating device, and wherein the sensor is also internal Has voltage supply means and is designed to request a voltage supply from the operating device depending on a state of charge of the internal voltage supply means.

As already mentioned, the internal voltage supply means of the sensor can be implemented, for example, by a storage capacitor or another storage device, the sensor then supplying, for example, when the voltage provided by the internal voltage supply means falls below a predetermined first voltage level Requires control gear. In this case, the sensor can also be designed to transmit a switch-off signal to the operating device, by means of which the voltage supply by the operating device is deactivated again as soon as the voltage provided by the internal voltage supply means exceeds a predetermined second voltage level. In other words, the sensor not only requests a supply from the operating device, but also signals to the operating device when the internal voltage supply has been sufficiently recharged and the supply from the operating device can be terminated accordingly. This ensures that the supply from the control gear is actually only required when needed.

9.2

AT16014U1 2018-10-15 Austrian

Patent Office As an alternative to the embodiment described above, it would also be conceivable that the operating device maintains the voltage supply for a predetermined period of time when requested by the sensor. This is then dimensioned in such a way that sufficient charging of the internal voltage supply means of the sensor is ensured, so that the sensor can work autonomously again at least for a certain period of time.

The concept of the invention can also be used if the operating device is coupled to a plurality of external sensors. In this case, it can be provided, for example, that when the energy supply is requested by at least one of the external sensors, all sensors are supplied and charged accordingly. Again, it can be provided that the energy supply to the sensors is maintained for a predetermined period of time or is deactivated when one of the sensors - ideally the one who previously sent the request - signals that the internal voltage supply means have been sufficiently recharged again.

Another advantageous development of the invention is that the microcontroller of the operating device is able to recognize whether a sensor is connected to the operating device at all. In the event that this is not the case, that is to say that no sensors are connected, the means for communicating with the sensor can then be completely deactivated since, in the absence of a corresponding sensor, no charging request signal can be received. In this way, the energy loss during the standby state can be reduced further. The determination of whether a sensor is connected can be recognized, for example, when the microcontroller of the operating device is started up, as to whether energy is actually being consumed when an active voltage supply is provided for a sensor. If this is not the case, it can be assumed that no sensor is connected.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing. Show it:

Figure 1 is a schematic arrangement of an operating device designed according to the invention for operating illuminants with an associated sensor designed according to the invention and Figure 2 is a diagram of the time course of the energy supply of the sensor by the operating device according to the solution according to the invention.

Figure 1 shows schematically an arrangement consisting of an operating device according to the invention, provided with the reference numeral 10 in the form of a converter and a sensor 20 coupled to the converter 10, designed according to the invention. The converter 10 is primarily for operating schematically illustrated lamps 50 provided and designed to convert the mains supply voltage present at an input-side connection 11 into a voltage suitable for operating the lighting means 50. In particular, this can include an optional increase or decrease in the power supplied to the lamps 50 in order to e.g. adjust in their brightness. A change in the color or color temperature of the light emitted by the lamps 50 by the converter 10 would also be conceivable.

The converter 10 can be controlled, for example, from a central control unit, for which purpose the converter 10 can be connected to a bus line of a lighting system by means of a further connection 12. Controlling the converter 10 with the aid of local operating elements such as switches or dimmers would also be conceivable.

In addition, however, it is also provided to operate the converter 10 automatically on the basis of the signals provided by the sensor 20. In the following, it is assumed here that the sensor 20 is a presence sensor, that is to say a sensor that is suitable for determining the presence of people or moving objects. The interaction between converter 10 and sensor 20 is then, for example, such that sensor 20 recognizes the presence of at least one

3.9

AT16014U1 2018-10-15 Austrian

Patent Office

A person in the area to be illuminated transmits corresponding information to the converter 10, which then adjusts the lighting in such a way that it e.g. allows working within the area to be illuminated. However, in the event that no presence of people is detected by the sensor 20, it can be provided that the converter 10 deactivates the lighting after a predetermined period of time, that is to say switches to a standby state in order to save energy. In order to enable the type of communication described above, the converter has an interface or an interface 15, via which communication with the sensor 20 takes place.

In the same way, the sensor 20 could also represent a brightness sensor, in which case, for example, automated operation of the converter 10 is provided such that it activates the lighting in the event that the daylight falling from outside falls below a certain brightness value, in order to provide sufficient brightness overall, which, for example, in turn enables working in the area to be illuminated.

In the two variants described, it is therefore provided that the converter 10 operates the lamps 50 depending on the information provided by the sensor 20, but temporarily switches off the lighting completely in order to save energy. Permanent reliable operation in the manner described above, however, requires that the sensor 20 remains active even in this switched-off state of the lighting, that is to say in a standby state of the converter 10, in order to determine, for example, when activation of the lighting means 50 is necessary. The sensor 20 must therefore be designed for permanent operation and, accordingly, must be adequately supplied with electricity at all times.

In the present case, it is provided that the sensor 20 is also supplied by the converter 10. For this purpose, the latter has voltage supply means 14, which in particular form a low-voltage voltage supply. The connection between converter 10 and sensor 20 with the aid of the interface 15 is such that, in addition to the communication already mentioned above, the sensor 20 can also be supplied with voltage by the voltage supply means 14. There may be a wired connection between converter 10 and sensor 20 as well as a wireless connection.

The energy supply of the sensor 20 through the converter 10 is not a problem as long as the lamps 50 are active, since the energy loss resulting from the supply of the sensor 20 is negligible during this period. Accordingly, it is preferably provided that, in principle, sensor 20 is also supplied with energy during lamp operation.

However, the energy losses of the converter 10 in a standby state, in which the associated lamps 50 are deactivated, should be reduced as much as possible, ie, in particular during this period, it would be desirable if the sensor 20 was not permanently provided by the voltage supply means 14 must be supplied with energy. The present invention provides a corresponding solution, which is explained in more detail below.

First of all, the concept according to the invention provides that the sensor 20 internally has a further voltage supply 21, which can be formed, for example, by a storage capacitor or other energy storage means. This voltage supply thus enables the function of the sensor 20 to be maintained autonomously, at least over a certain period of time, without the converter 10 having to supply it.

According to the present invention, the sensor 20 is now equipped with an intelligence such that it only prompts the converter 10 to provide energy for charging the internal voltage supply 21 when necessary. This can be realized, for example, by monitoring the voltage V provided by the internal voltage supply 21 by means of a corresponding circuit 22. In the event that this voltage V falls below a first predetermined voltage level, then over 4/9

AT16014U1 2018-10-15 Austrian

The patent office sends the sensor 20 a corresponding request signal to the converter 10, which causes the converter 10 to activate the voltage supply means 14 and to supply the sensor 20.

The sensor 20 is accordingly designed so that whenever the voltage level of its internal voltage supply drops below a predetermined level, it transmits feedback via the communication channel to the operating device 10 and requests an energy supply from it. The operating device 20 in turn is designed to recognize such a feedback and to implement it in such a way that an active voltage supply for the sensor 20 is only carried out after receiving a corresponding request. As already mentioned, this applies primarily to the standby state, since the sensor 20 is preferably permanently supplied with energy during operation of the lighting means 50.

The period over which the voltage supply for the sensor 20 remains activated can be realized in different ways. According to a first alternative, provision can be made for the voltage supply to be maintained by the operating device 10 for a predetermined period of time. This period of time can be determined empirically and can be designed such that the internal voltage supply 21 of the sensor 20 is almost completely charged.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, however, it is provided that the supply by the operating device 10 remains activated until the sensor 20 reports again that the internal voltage supply 21 has been sufficiently recharged again. For this purpose, it can be provided that the circuit 22 continuously monitors the internally output voltage V, during the charging process and signals when a second voltage level is exceeded that the internal voltage supply 21 of the sensor 20 has now been sufficiently charged.

After the predetermined period of time or after receipt of the second signal from the sensor 20, by which a sufficient charge has been signaled, the low-voltage voltage supply 14 in the operating device 10 is then deactivated again, thus reducing the energy consumption during the standby state to a minimum , During this standby state, only the components of the operating device 10 responsible for the communication then have to remain activated, while the low-voltage supply means 14 responsible for the previously relatively high losses can be deactivated.

In this state, the sensor 20 can in turn be powered by the internal voltage supply 21 for a certain period of time until the previously described process of recharging initiated by the sensor 20 is repeated. On the other hand, should sensor 20 meanwhile e.g. the presence of a person or another activation condition is determined, this is communicated to the operating device 10 in the form of an activation signal, so that it is activated and operates the lamps 50 in a suitable manner and supplies the sensor 20 with energy.

FIG. 2 again schematically illustrates the procedure according to the invention, the diagram depicting the status of the operating device (represented by curve I) and the level of the supply voltage V output by the internal voltage supply means being shown as a function of time. Furthermore, the communication between sensor and operating device is shown schematically.

It can be seen that the operating device 10 is activated during a first phase τ ₁ and, as mentioned above, there is also a permanent power supply for the sensor 20 during this period. The internal supply voltage V, of the sensor is accordingly constant at the maximum value shown. After phase τ ₁ , operating device 10, on the other hand, changes to a standby state τ ₂ and the energy supply of sensor 20 is initially deactivated, which has the consequence that the internal supply voltage V, of sensor 20 is slow due to continuous discharge of the internal storage capacitor

5.9

AT16014U1 2018-10-15 Austrian patent office falls. If this falls below a predetermined lower limit value, the sensor 20 wakes up the converter 10 with a single pulse i. The corresponding rising or falling edge at the communication input of the operating device 10 activates the latter and causes it to activate the power supply means 14 for supplying the sensor 20 in the subsequent period τ ₃ . Accordingly, the internal supply voltage V of the sensor rises again during this period, as shown in FIG. 2. If this reaches an upper limit value, a further response signal ii is transmitted by the sensor and the operating device is again switched to the standby state for the subsequent period τ ₄ . During this period, as shown, the operating device 10 is woken up by a further pulse iii, which, however, has now been output since the presence of a person has been determined by the sensor 20. Accordingly, there then follows communication between sensor 20 and operating device 10, by means of which the device is brought into the active state and operates the lamps. The voltage supply of the sensor 20 also takes place during this period τ ₅ , which has the consequence that the internal supply voltage V 1 rises again here until it has reached the maximum value and remains there permanently.

It is therefore obvious that in the solution according to the invention, the energy consumption by the operating device in the standby state can be significantly reduced, since the energy supply for the sensor only has to be activated temporarily, but remains inactive for the majority of the time.

The concept of the invention can be easily expanded to the combination of an operating device with several sensors. For example, it can be provided that the voltage supply for all connected sensors is activated as soon as at least one of the sensors provides the feedback that its internal voltage supply level has dropped below the intended value. In order to prevent the voltage supply from being deactivated again shortly afterwards by another sensor, a minimum switch-on duration of the voltage supply can be provided or it is provided that the subsequent deactivation is only permitted by the sensor which previously initiated the activation of the voltage supply. In this case, the corresponding signals that activate and deactivate the power supply must be coded accordingly.

Furthermore, it would also be conceivable that the voltage supply can be selectively requested only from a subset of all connected sensors. This can be the case in particular if the low-voltage supply is divided in the operating device, so that not all sensors are supplied starting from the same low-voltage supply.

Another development can also consist in the fact that the converter is enabled to recognize whether it is coupled to a sensor at all. If this is the case, the energy consumption in the standby state can be further deactivated, since then the communication means which are responsible for the communication with the sensor can also be switched off, since no charging request signal or any other wake-up signal will be received anyway , The presence of a sensor can be determined, for example, by the operating device, in which, for example, when starting up, a test is carried out to determine whether energy is actually being consumed when an active voltage supply is provided for a sensor.

Ultimately, the solution according to the invention thus allows the operation of a sensor supplied by an operating device to be permanently ensured, but the energy supply is only activated when the sensor is currently required. By means of these measures according to the invention, the losses of the operating device in the standby state can be significantly reduced.

6.9

AT16014U1 2018-10-15 Austrian patent office

Claims (10)

Expectations Operating device (10) for operating lamps (50) having an interface (15) for communication with an external sensor (20), e.g. a presence or brightness sensor, as well as means for supplying voltage (14) to the sensor (20), characterized in that the operating device (10) is designed to supply the voltage to the device in a period in which the lamps (50) are not activated Sensor (20) only to be carried out when requested. 2. Operating device according to claim 1, characterized in that the operating device (10) is designed to maintain the voltage supply of the sensor (20) after its request for a predetermined period of time and / or until a shutdown signal arrives. 3. Operating device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is designed for connecting a plurality of sensors (20), the voltage supply for all sensors (20) preferably being activated upon request by at least one sensor (20). 4. Operating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the means for the voltage supply (14) of the sensor or sensors (20) form a low-voltage voltage supply. 5. Operating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed to recognize the connection of a sensor (20) with the interface (15) and in the event that no sensor (20) with the operating device (10) is connected to prevent a voltage supply to the interface (15) or to deactivate the interface (15). 6. Sensor (20), in particular presence or brightness sensor, with means for communication with an operating device (10) for operating lamps (50), the sensor (20) being designed to be supplied with voltage by the operating device (10) , and wherein the sensor (20) further has internal voltage supply means (21) and is further configured to request a voltage supply from the operating device (10) depending on a state of charge of the internal voltage supply means (21). 7. Sensor according to claim 6, characterized in that the sensor (20) is designed to request the Voltage supply by the operating device (10) to monitor the state of charge of the internal voltage supply means (21) and to transmit a switch-off signal to the operating device (10) as soon as the internal voltage supply means (21) meet a predetermined charging condition; and / or that the sensor (20) is designed to request the voltage supply from the operating device (10) when the voltage (V,) provided by the internal voltage supply means (21) falls below a predetermined first level. 8. Sensor according to claim 7, characterized in that the sensor (20) is designed to transmit the switch-off signal to the operating device (10) as soon as the internal voltage supply means (21) are available 7.9 AT16014U1 2018-10-15 Austrian Patent office-provided voltage (V,) exceeds a predetermined second voltage level. 9. Sensor according to one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the sensor (20) is designed to transmit an activation signal to the operating device (10) in the event of detection of an activation condition, for example the detection of the presence of a person, which causes it to activate the lighting means (50) assigned to the operating device (10) and a voltage supply for the sensor (20). 10. Sensor according to claim 9, characterized in that in the event that the activation signal is transmitted in a period in which the lamps (50) are not activated, the activation signal is suitable for causing the operating device to do so activate. 1 sheet of drawings 8.9 AT16 014U1 2018-10-15 Austrian Patent Office 1.1 Fig.2 9.9